Nintendo 3DS XL Review: Why Modern Retro Handhelds Still Can't Replace It
Disclosure: We may earn a commission when you purchase through links on our site. This does not influence our reviews or recommendations.
Retro handhelds have gotten stupidly good and man do I love them! I own 4 now, just bought another on eBay today. For a couple hundred bucks you can grab something that chews through Game Boy, N64, Dreamcast, GameCube, even PS2 without breaking a sweat. It genuinely feels like every year the ceiling gets pushed higher.
But there's one Nintendo handheld that none of these devices have actually replaced for me, and it's not close.
The Nintendo 3DS XL.
And no, it's not a horsepower problem. My retro handhelds could emulate 3DS games in their sleep at this point. It's that Nintendo built something genuinely different with the DS/3DS line, and that difference doesn't emulate cleanly no matter how strong your hardware is.
Two Screens Changed More Than People Give It Credit For
The DS and 3DS weren't just shrunk-down consoles. Nintendo handed developers two displays, a touchscreen, a stylus, cameras, a clamshell hinge, and later glasses-free 3D, and said "go build something around this."
And they did. Games leaned on that second screen constantly, maps, inventory, item menus, notes, all living permanently on the bottom display while the actual game kept moving up top. You never had to pause and dig through a menu to check where you were or what you were holding. It was just there.
This wasn't a mobile gaming gimmick. It genuinely changed how handheld games got designed, full stop. Going back to a single screen after spending real time with a DS or 3DS still feels like a step down to me, even now.
Which is why I'm honestly a little baffled Nintendo didn't keep pushing the concept forward. The Switch is a fantastic machine, but it walked away from dual screens entirely. Other companies picked up the idea instead of Nintendo, which is a weird position for Nintendo to be in.
The Emulation Gap Modern Handhelds Can't Buy Their Way Out Of
Most modern retro handhelds are built the same way: one screen, two analog sticks, a fast chip, good battery life. Companies like Anbernic, Retroid, and Miyoo have that formula completely dialed in, and for the vast majority of retro libraries it works great.
DS and 3DS games are the exception. You can absolutely emulate them on a single-screen device, split the display, stretch it, shrink it, swap between top and bottom on the fly. Technically it works.
It's just not the same experience, because these games were never designed with the assumption that you'd be juggling screens. They were designed assuming two physical displays would always be sitting on top of each other, permanently. Take that away and you're not just changing the hardware, you're changing part of how the game was meant to be played.
That's exactly why something like the AYN Thor caught my attention. Instead of treating the second screen as a problem to route around with software tricks, it just brings the dual-screen hardware back. It's the first time in years I've seen a handheld manufacturer actually lean back into the idea instead of quietly ignoring it.
Why I Still Reach for My Original 3DS XL
I still have my original red 3DS XL, and it still gets real playtime. The reason is simple: Pokémon.
Some of my favorite Pokémon games ever came out of the DS and 3DS era, and Pokémon HeartGold is easily my favorite of the bunch. I could absolutely play HeartGold on a modern retro handheld, and honestly, I have. But it's not quite the same. HeartGold was built for that dual-screen setup, having your map, party, and bag sitting on the bottom screen while you're running around Johto on top just feels right in a way that a split or resized emulated layout never fully replicates.
Emulation nails the software. Replicating the actual experience of playing it is a much harder problem, and that's the gap the 3DS still lives in.
My One Real Complaint: The Shape
Here's where I'll push back on my own nostalgia a little. I love the dual screens, I love the library, but I've never really loved holding the 3DS XL for long sessions.
It's flat. There's not much for my hands to actually grip onto, and after 30-40 minutes my hands start cramping and I'm shifting my grip constantly. Compare that to something like a Retroid Pocket or an Anbernic RG-series device, both of which have actual contoured grips and feel like a real controller in your hands, and the 3DS XL starts to feel like a relic in the worst way. Read my review of AYN Odin 2 Portal here!
The fix is easy enough, I just throw a grip attachment on it. It makes the whole thing noticeably bulkier, but for a long HeartGold session, that's a trade I'll make every time.
It's a strange contrast, honestly. Modern retro handhelds nailed ergonomics but abandoned the dual-screen idea that made the 3DS library so interesting in the first place. Meanwhile the 3DS nailed the screen setup and never really solved comfort. Nobody's put both halves together yet.
Specs Aren't the Whole Story
We talk about retro handhelds almost entirely in terms of what they can emulate. Can it run GameCube? Can it handle PS2? How's the upscaling? How much RAM?
Those are fair questions, but the 3DS is proof that raw power isn't the whole equation. You can build something dramatically more powerful than anything Nintendo shipped in 2011 and still fall short of the actual experience, because the software and the hardware were designed hand in hand. That's not something you fix by throwing a faster chip at it.
Our Take
I don't keep my 3DS XL around because it's powerful. It obviously isn't, not anymore.
I keep it because there's still nothing that quite replicates playing a game built specifically for Nintendo's dual-screen hardware on the actual hardware. HeartGold alone justifies the shelf space.
And yeah, I still wish it were more comfortable to hold without bolting a grip onto it. But the core idea, two screens, working together, wasn't a gimmick. It shaped an entire generation of game design.
Modern retro handhelds can replace almost everything else in Nintendo's back catalog at this point. The 3DS is proving to be the one that won't go quietly.
And honestly, watching companies like AYN bring dual screens back with the Thor makes me think Nintendo's "weird" idea from 2011 was further ahead of its time than anyone gave it credit for at the time. Here's hoping someone, whether it's Nintendo or AYN, keeps running with it.
